SWEDISH ARTIST JOHANNA PIHL CAN BE TRACED BACK TO HER CAREER IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY WHERE SHE ACHIEVED GREAT RECOGNITION BOTH IN SWEDEN AND INTERNATIONALLY. THROUGHOUT HER CAREER, PIHL’S PASSION FOR LINES AND FORMS HAS REMAINED A DRIVING INSPIRATION.

PRESENTLY SHE CREATES MINIMALISTIC PIECES WITH AN ABSTRACT APPROACH WHERE SHE EXPLORES THE BALANCE BETWEEN LINES AND SHAPES. BY RETAINING A MONOCHROME COLOR PALETTE WITH THE FINE GRAIN OF PAPER AS THE PURE BASE, SHE REMOVES ALL THE UNNECESSARY DISTRACTIONS AND FOCUSES ON THE ATTENTION TO THE WORK. TO LET THE PROCESS SPEAK, TO BE A PLACE TO DISAPPEAR INTO – INTO THE SPACES SHE HAS CREATED.

A SUPPORTIVE LINE

INITIALLY, IT WAS THE SEARCH FOR FINDING FORMS AND SPACES THAT DROVE ME. THE WORK BEGINS WITH THE STROKE OF A LINE THAT WOULD ONLY BECOME MEANINGFUL WHEN ANOTHER LINE IS ADDED AND GIVES IT A REASON TO BE. 

AT THE BEGINNING A CALCULATED PLAN IS USED AS A SUPPORT. BUT MOTIVATED BY THE UNKNOWN AND THE MYSTERY THAT HOLDS, THE NEXT STEP NATURALLY CONTINUES BY LISTENING TO MY INTUITION. 

GUIDED BY THAT, FOCUSING ON TECHNIQUE, I THEN ALLOW NEW LINES TO BE DRAWN AND SOMETIMES BLURRED. WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY A BLANK PAPER IS NOW FILLED WITH A MIXTURE OF LINES AND THE SEARCH TO FIND A NEW FORM BEGINS TO EMERGE. 

I WANT THE VIEWER TO GET A PART OF ME AND MY THOUGHTS IN THE PROCESS OF THE EXPLORATION. AND BY ALLOWING THE PROCESS TO LIVE AND TO BE VISIBLE, I FIND THAT IT ADDS MORE THAT JUST A CLUSTER OF LINES. I FEEL THAT IT GIVES THE PIECES AN ENERGY AND AN INTENSITY THAT THEY PREVIOUSLY LACKED. 

THESE SPACES THAT ARE NOW CREATED WHERE THE PROCESS SPEAKS – I WANT TO BE A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STOP, OBSERVE INTO THE WORLD THAT I CREATED FOR A WHILE. 

IT’S NOT A NEW IDEA BUT A MOMENT WHERE I’M CURRENTLY IN. IN MY WORLD WHERE SPACES ARE SHAPED AND WHERE THEY SUPPORT EACH OTHER FROM SOMETHING THAT STARTED WITH ONLY A STROKE OF A LINE. A LINE THAT WAS GOING TO BE – 
A SUPPORTIVE LINE.